Written questions by Shannon.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of recent rends in the level of butterfly numbers, in the context of the results from the recent Big Butterfly Count 2024.

The recently published Butterflies in the United Kingdom and in England: 2023 provides statistics on UK butterfly abundance and includes an assessment of population trends for different groups of species, and habitat type as well as the major drivers of decline. The detailed report is published on GOV.UK (Butterflies in the United Kingdom and in England: 2023 - GOV.UK). It contains data up to and including 2023; robust data for estimates of change in abundance of butterflies for 2024 will be available to Defra in summer 2025. In summary, on average the abundance of butterflies across the UK continues to show a long-term decline. This is due to a range of factors including weather patterns, habitat loss, pollution and the use of pesticides.

What assessment he has made of the adequacy of dementia diagnosis times; and what steps his Department is taking to improve diagnosis rates.

We are committed to improving dementia diagnosis rates and recovering them to the national ambition for two thirds of people with dementia to have a formal diagnosis.NHS England has funded an evidence-based improvement project to fund two trusts in each region, 14 sites in total, to pilot the Diagnosing Advanced Dementia Mandate tool to improve the diagnosis of dementia and the provision of support in care homes. All pilots completed at the end of May 2024, and it is anticipated that learning will be shared by end of the third quarter of 2024/25.The Government’s Dame Barbara Windsor Dementia Goals programme is investing in innovations in biomarkers, clinical trials, and implementation. Some of these innovations could support improved diagnosis in the future, if validated for clinical use.

How many people have been convicted of attacks involving acid in the last 12 months.

The Ministry of Justice publishes data on prosecutions and convictions for a wide range of offences, including violence against the person, in the Outcomes by Offences data tool. This can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: Criminal justice statistics - GOV.UK.However, data held centrally does not include specific offences where acid has been used during the offence. This information may be held in court records but to examine individual court records would be of disproportionate costs.

If she will make an estimate of the number of pension credit claims received between January and November (a) 2024 and (b) 2023.

In 2024 we have received approx. 206,000 claims up to and including week commencing 16 Sept 2024, this figure includes data published by the Department on the 27 of Sept 2024. The Department has announced it will publish updated Pension Credit application and award statistics on 28 November 2024. Releases will be quarterly, including Pension Credit application, clearance, and award/non-award volumes data from 1 April 2024, up to the most recent data available before each publication. The previous publication can be found here: Weekly Pension Credit claims received from 1 April 2024 to 22 September 2024 - GOV.UK In 2023 for the same period, we received 201,000 claims, with an additional 22,000 claims made after this period and up to the end of October 2023. Please Note:• The figures presented have been collected for internal departmental use only and have not been quality assured to the same extent as Official Statistics• Intakes have been rounded to the nearest 1000• Data for 2023 is from two different sources, data from Jan 23 to end of March 23 and data from Apr 23 onwards• Methodology changes for intakes from 03.04.2023, impacting quality of data for 2023

What assessment she has made of the adequacy of Government's fire safety in the workplace guidance; and if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of updating this guidance.

Article 50 of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (FSO) places a legal duty on the Secretary of State to ensure that such guidance, as she considers appropriate, is available to assist Responsible Persons in the discharge of the duties imposed on them by articles 8 to 22, and by regulations made under article 24, of the FSO.The Home Office publishes a suite of guidance to meet this requirement and support Responsible Persons in meeting their duties under the FSO. This includes specific guidance on fire safety in the workplace. Work is underway to update the original suite of 12 guides published by the Home Office to ensure they reflect current legal requirements, standards, technical innovations and industry best practice.Over the last 3 years, we have published 10 new or revised guides, and work is progressing well to revise the original suite (which includes workplace fire safety guidance), with publication expected over the next 2 years.

If she will make an estimate of the number of 15-21 year olds that have been prosecuted for violent crime involving a weapon in the last 12 months.

The Ministry of Justice publishes data on the number of defendants prosecuted, which can be filtered to specific offences and broken down by age range of defendants. This can be obtained in the Outcomes by Offences data tool, which can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: criminal-justice-system-statistics-quarterly-december-2023.However, data held centrally does not include information on whether a weapon was involved in the course of a violent offence. This information may be held on court records but to examine individual court records would be of disproportionate costs.

What assessment he has made of trends in the uptake of apprentices in the civil service in the last 12 months.

The uptake of apprenticeships within the Civil Service (in England) fell under the previous administration from 7,007 starts in 2022/23 to 6,508 starts in 2023/24.This Government is committed to apprenticeships as a means of removing barriers to opportunities and building the skills needed for the future workforce.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make representations to his Nigerian counterpart for the release of Mubarak Bala.

Dialogue on human rights, including Freedom of Religion or Belief, is a vital part of the UK's partnership with Nigeria. The UK Government will proactively raise cases where blasphemy legislation has been used to restrict human rights with the Nigerian authorities, and calls for Mr Bala's immediate release. The right of individuals to express opinions, including expressing their non-belief, is essential to a free and open society.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of Aid to the Church in Need's report entitled Persecuted and Forgotten?, published on 22 October 2024; and whether he plans to implement the recommendations on helping tackle the persecution of religious minorities worldwide.

We note the recent report by Aid to the Church in Need; "Persecuted and Forgotten?" and are considering its findings and recommendations. The UK government seeks to address the severity and scale of violations and abuses of freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) for all abroad. No one should live in fear because of what they do or do not believe in. We tackle these issues bilaterally through our diplomatic network, and multilaterally, by coordinating with partners at fora such as the UN to promote FoRB. We did so most recently at the UN General Assembly Third Committee, 79th Session, in discussion with the Special Rapporteur for FoRB.

How many people have been convicted of theft offences involving (a) cars and (b) motorcycles in the last 12 months.

The Ministry of Justice publishes data on the number of offenders convicted of theft offences, including theft of/from a motor vehicle. This can be obtained in the Outcomes by Offences data tool, which can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: criminal-justice-system-statistics-quarterly-december-2023.This information will not include broader offences involving cars and motorcycles however, for example where a car was used as a getaway from a general theft offence. That information may be held on court records but to examine individual court records would be of disproportionate costs.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to help support (a) religious tolerance and (b) the Rohingya people in (i) Myanmar and (ii) Bangladesh.

The UK is committed to supporting religious minorities in Myanmar and we continue to raise our concerns over discrimination against ethnic and religious minorities in international fora. We are deeply concerned about the situation of the Rohingya. Since 2017, the UK has provided over £48 million in aid including cash assistance and water, sanitation and hygiene services to the Rohingya and other Muslim minorities in Rakhine State. In Bangladesh, we have provided £391 million in humanitarian assistance to support the Rohingya since 2017.

If he will have discussions with his counterparts in Northern Ireland on potential steps to facilitate the provision of records from mother and baby homes in Northern Ireland to affected individuals.

I understand that the Truth Recovery Programme in the Executive Office, working closely with victims and survivors of historical institutions in Northern Ireland, has made progress on the right to information and access to records. The Northern Ireland’s Department of Health has also produced practice guidance and there is work ongoing to progress secondary legislation with the Department for Science, Information and Technology to support this important objective.

What steps she is taking to tackle the sexual exploitation of women to pay drug debts.

County Lines is the most violent model of drug supply and a harmful form of exploitation. Gangs exploit children and vulnerable adults to move and store drugs and money, often using coercion, intimidation, violence - including sexual violence - and weapons to ensure compliance.The Home Office funded County Lines Programme was launched in 2019 to tackle this violent and exploitative drug distribution model. Through the Programme we are funding specialist support providers to support victims of county lines gangs, including girls, to help them escape from exploitation.In addition, this Government will also work closely with the voluntary and community sector to help sexually exploited people to exit prostitution.To help support people at risk of being sexually exploited, Changing Lives has received £1.36m from the Home Office over three years (2022-2025) for their Net-Reach project, which provides online outreach, early intervention and intensive support for women and girls at high-risk of exploitation and abuse.We are also providing funding to Trevi Women, who provide trauma-informed support to women wishing to exit on-street prostitution and survivors of VAWG crimes, remove barriers that prevent prostituted women from accessing necessary support. They also provide long-term support to reduce the likelihood of clients being further exploited. In addition, the Modern Slavery Victim Care Contract provides support to adult potential and confirmed victims of modern slavery in England and Wales, including a support worker to help them access wider services, such as medical treatment, legal aid, legal representatives, and legal advice.

What funding his Department provides for research on rare genetic disorders.

The Department remains committed to supporting research into rare diseases, and pioneering research is an underpinning theme of the UK Rare Diseases Framework. Since April 2022, the Department has invested over £2.2 million for the National Institute of Health and Care Research to carry out research programmes related to rare genetic diseases, and £341 million for Genomics England. This covers all funding allocated to Genomics England for the 2022/23 to 2024/25 financial years, including to deliver the National Genomic Research Library to enable research into rare genetic diseases, and for the Generation Study to evaluate the use of whole genome sequencing to diagnose rare genetic conditions in newborns.

Media and Sport, if she will make an estimate of the amount of money (a) spent and (b) lost on illegal gambling sites in each of the last five years.

The issue of illegal gambling is a concern for this Government and we are committed to working closely with the Gambling Commission, the statutory regulator for gambling in Great Britain, to ensure that illegal gambling, in all its forms, is addressed. The Commission continues to monitor this area closely and take action against unlicensed operators where needed.Estimating the size of the illegal gambling market is difficult due to the changing nature of the sites and channels through which customers are able to access illegal activity. While research in this space is improving, further research is required to confidently estimate the extent of illegal gambling within Great Britain, who is engaging with it, and the impact that it is having. The Gambling Commission is working to improve its evidence base around the unlicensed gambling market, using web traffic data and gambling behaviour data to estimate the size of the online unlicensed market and conducting qualitative research to understand consumer motivations for participation in illegal gambling. The Commission published a blog outlining its approach in October 2024.Gambling regulation is a devolved matter in Northern Ireland, where it falls under The Betting, Gaming, Lotteries and Amusements (Northern Ireland) Order 1985 and The Betting, Gaming, Lotteries and Amusements (Amendment) Act 2022.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what plans he has for the provision of support to Ukraine.

The Government's support for Ukraine is ironclad. The UK has provided £12.8 billion in military, humanitarian and economic support to Ukraine since 2022. We have committed £3 billion a year in military assistance to Ukraine for as long as it takes. The UK will also provide £2.26 billion as part of the G7 Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration Loans to Ukraine scheme. This is additional funding on top of our existing £3 billion a year commitment and will be used for Ukraine to procure military equipment via the MOD.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the human rights situation in Darfur.

The UK condemns the growing body of evidence of serious atrocities being committed against civilians in Darfur and wider Sudan, including in the recent report by the UN Fact Finding Mission. We analyse the conflict and atrocities on an ongoing basis including through funding the Centre for Information Resilience (CIR), a research body which is gathering open-source evidence about the ongoing fighting in Sudan, with an eye to future accountability processes. In October, the UK led the mandate renewal of the UN Fact-Finding Mission for Sudan (FFM) as part of the 'Sudan Core Group' at the UN Human Rights Council. The FFM is vital for ensuring credible allegations of human rights violations and abuses by all sides, including atrocities being committed in Darfur, are investigated impartially. The UK also continues to provide support to the Office for the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Sudan (OHCHR), a UN body that plays a crucial role in monitoring and reporting on human rights violations. We are working with the UN, key regional actors, and UN Security Council (UNSC) members to shine a spotlight on Sudan during our UNSC presidency. On 12 October, the Minister for Africa chaired an open meeting on protection of civilians at the UNSC, seeking to galvanise greater action on protection and humanitarian access following the publication of the UN Secretary General's recommendations.

What steps he is taking to prevent the spread of Mpox.

There are two distinct types, known as clades, of the Mpox virus, specifically clade I and clade II. The previous significant outbreak in the United Kingdom in 2022 was from clade II. Details of the current National Health Service Mpox vaccination programme are available at the following link:https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/mpox/#:~:text=people%20who%27ve%20been%20in,up%20to%2014%20days%20afterClade I is currently classified as a high consequence infectious disease. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has led extensive planning across the Government and the NHS to deal with Mpox cases in the UK, and will coordinate contact tracing and offer testing and vaccination to contacts as needed.Four cases of clade I Mpox have been detected in the UK, three of which are household contacts of the first case. All four patients are currently under specialist medical care.In line with the advice of the Advisory Committee for Dangerous Pathogens, the border response for direct flights from affected countries includes pre-arrival health declarations. Digital messaging is displayed on information screens at 10 international airports in England and the Eurostar terminal, and the UKHSA is meeting flights from affected countries and giving health advice leaflets to passengers and crew.We are placing a strong emphasis on ensuring that there are high levels of awareness among clinicians about the risks and the actions they need to take. The UKHSA Returning Workers Scheme for organisations sending workers to outbreak areas also provides pre-travel advice, active monitoring on return, and medical support for symptomatic returnees when necessary. Pre-travel advice for Mpox is publicly available on TravelHealthPro website, which is available at the following link:https://travelhealthpro.org.uk/The risk to the general population of the UK of being exposed to Mpox clade I is currently considered low.

What discussions he has had with his Northern Irish counterpart on funding for hospices.

Healthcare, including hospice care, in Northern Ireland is devolved, and therefore a matter for the Northern Ireland Executive, although we are always happy to learn from the experiences of devolved governments.

How many medical technologies were (a) piloted in the NHS in (i) 2023 and (ii) 2024, (b) supported after successful pilots in those years and (c) adopted at scale in the last year.

In February 2023, the Department published its first ever strategy for MedTech, as well as a one year on update in April 2024, outlining our priorities for improving the adoption and spread of safe, effective, and innovative medical technologies across the National Health Service.NHS England holds data on innovation adoption and scale for specific NHS England programmes and policies, such as the MedTech Funding Mandate programme. Providing data on individual programmes in response to this question does not provide a complete picture of activity.For example, the Health Tech Adoption and Acceleration Fund will have funded a mixture of pilots and scaling of existing programmes, however this was largely managed at local level, and NHS England do not centrally hold data on what is a pilot and what is a scaled programme.Pilot and evaluation data is held at provider level, which includes acute, primary, community, and secondary care providers. These organisations are not required to report pilot outcomes to NHS England. They work autonomously but in partnership with technology evaluators, academics, researchers, or other expert partners such as the Health Innovation Networks. NHS England produces an annual Health Innovation Network report, which is due to come out this Autumn. The 2022/23 is available at the following link:https://thehealthinnovationnetwork.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/AHSN-Network-Workforce-Impact-Report-2023.pdfThe data is aggregated, so it is not possible to extrapolate from the report how many of the projects are technology pilots.